Friday, November 01, 2013

The 2012-13 season proved to be a landmark year for the Calvin men’s basketball team. The Knights hit the 20-win plateau for the first time since 2006, captured the MIAA Tournament title and reached the NCAA III Tournament for the first time since 2007 and advanced to the Round of 16 of the NCAA III Tournament for the first time since 2005, eventually finishing with an overall record of 26-4. What can the Knights do for an encore? With a solid group of returning players, the Knights should field a strong squad for the upcoming season but will also have to find a way to replace four graduated seniors including a pair of 1,000 point scorers in combo guard Bryan Powell and wing forward Tom Snikkers. Calvin will have an ample supply of frontcourt depth but finding ways to fill holes in the backcourt will be key. Along with Powell, the Knights must also replace starting point guard David Rietema who has graduated. Powell was a first team All-MIAA selection last year despite coming off the bench while Rietema was a stellar defender and ball-handler.

Friday, November 01, 2013

The Calvin women’s basketball team enjoyed its most successful stretch in program history from the fall of 2009 to the spring of 2013, accumulating 100 victories and losing only 16 contests. The Knights earned national tournament berths all four years, advancing as far as the Elite Eight in March of 2012. And, it will come as no surprise to those who have followed Calvin women’s basketball that the impressive four year span aligned with the career of Carissa Verkaik, the 2012-13 Division III player of the year, four-time All-American, four-time MIAA MVP, and Calvin record holder in career points, career rebounds, and career blocked shots.Verkaik was part of six key seniors that have since graduated. While Calvin graduated six irreplaceable seniors, the Knights return three starters from a team last season that went 23-4. Calvin opens its season on November 15 when it travels to Lakeland College for a non-conference game. The conference season begins in earnest on November 19 when the Knights host rival Hope inside Van Noord Arena.

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

The Calvin women’s swim and dive team enters the 2013-14 season coming off its ninth-straight MIAA title. Despite the recent success of the Knights in conference competition, this year’s swim team realizes they have yet to accomplish anything themselves. “We’ve begun to talk about how this team has done nothing,” said head coach Dan Gelderloos. “We’ve had individuals on this team that have won MIAA championships, but this team, as it stands now, hasn’t done anything. This team isn’t trying to win (a tenth straight title), they’re just trying to win one.” Calvin opens up its season at the Venema Aquatic Center on October 19 when it hosts the MIAA relays. The Knights will then return to action in a dual meet against a pair of Division II schools before beginning the conference portion of their schedule on October 26 against Albion.

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Coming off its most successful conference finish in program history, the Calvin men’s swimming and diving team is looking to continue improving and compete in every event come this year’s MIAA Championships. “You look down the lineup and there are no holes to be filled,” said head coach Dan Gelderloos. “We can compete in any event and that is going to be exciting. We want to be in the running for an MIAA championship come the last day, whether we’re 10 points up or 10 points down. We want to be getting to the last day with, ‘Ok, this is what we have to do (to win).’ ” The Knights begin their season on October 19 when they host the MIAA relays. Calvin’s first conference dual meet is scheduled for October 26 away at Albion.

Thursday, August 29, 2013

After graduating one of the most successful senior classes in the history of the program, the 2013 men’s cross country team will feature some different faces this fall. In order to bring home the team’s 18th consecutive Great Lakes Regional title and 27th consecutive MIAA conference title, the Knights will need runners to step up and fill the roles that have been vacated by graduated runners.Calvin returns four runners that were selected to the All-MIAA Second Team last season. Seniors Sam Kerk (Hartland, WI/Lake County Lutheran HS) and Philip Spitzer (Buckley/Buckley HS) combine with juniors Josh Ferguson (Naperville, IL/Neuqua Valley HS) and Steven Haagsma (Grandville/Calvin Christian HS) to anchor the Knights running attack.

Thursday, August 29, 2013

The Calvin women’s cross country team will head into the 2013 season with a sense of optimism as the Knights bring back a large group of returning letterwinners and a stellar incoming class of first-year runners. The 2012 version of the Knights captured their seventh MIAA title in the last eight years and later qualified for the NCAA III Championships, finishing 18th as a team. Head coach Brian Diemer thinks this year’s Calvin squad - ranked 11th in the Division III preseason Top 25 poll - has the capability of doing even more than last year’s team.

Thursday, August 29, 2013

With two MIAA titles and two appearances at Nationals in the past three years, the Calvin men’s golf program has put together its most successful stretch in program history. The Knights finished 26th nationally at the NCAA III Championships in the spring of 2011 and 30th this past spring. With the pair of national appearances, fifth-year head coach Brian Bolt thinks Calvin is ready to contend for the MIAA annually.

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

With six returning letterwinners including one returning first team All-MIAA selection, the Calvin women’s golf team has hopes of once again finishing in the top four of the MIAA regular season fall standings and qualifying for the subsequent MIAA Spring Tournament that determines the league’s automatic qualifier to the NCAA III Championships. Calvin has qualified for the spring tournament the last two years by finishing fourth in both the 2011 and 2012 MIAA fall regular season standings. Leading the list of returning golfers is senior Carlia Canto (Marysville, Mich./Port Huron Northern HS) who was a 2012 first team All-MIAA choice and a 2011 second team All-MIAA selection. Last fall, Canto finished third in the final MIAA fall regular season standings with a Calvin single-season average of 81.3 strokes-per-round. She later placed in the top six at the final two rounds of the MIAA spring qualifying tournament. Canto was one of five underclassmen on the 2012 All-MIAA first team and should be part of a talented group of conference golfers this fall.

Friday, August 23, 2013

ROYAL OAK, Mich. – Women’s soccer coaches in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association have chosen defending champion Calvin as the preseason favorite for the 2013 season.The Knights, who won both the MIAA championship and conference tournament last season, received seven out of a possible nine first-place votes in the preseason poll. Alma, which was picked to finish second, and Saint Mary’s, which was picked fourth, each received one first-place vote. Hope was picked third in the poll, followed by Saint Mary’s, Adrian, Kalamazoo, Olivet, Trine and Albion.

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

The Calvin College Men’s soccer team enters the 2013 season having established very high standards for success. The team has won six consecutive regular season MIAA titles and also made the NCAA tournament six years in a row. There proved to be no drop-off during the 2012 season under the direction of new head coach Ryan Souders, and the Knights look to build off this foundation this year. Out of the 24 players listed on the varsity roster last year, 16 return for the 2013 campaign, including an impressive 11 players who have started for the team before.